Denver coach Bill Tierney reacts on the sidelines in the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse national quarterfinals against Johns Hopkins.

Denver lacrosse coach Bill Tierney will make his 11th career Final Four appearance Saturday when he guides the Pioneers (15-2) to their maiden national semifinal appearance against Virginia (11-5) at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium. In 22 years at Princeton, Tierney led the Tigers to 10 Final Fours, eight NCAA championship games and six national titles.

The Cavaliers undoubtedly remember two of those titles. Tierney’s Tigers beat the Cavs in overtime for the 1994 and 1996 NCAA crowns by the scores of 13-12 and 9-8 to help build Tierney’s reputation is the sport’s top big-game coach.

Tierney is a remarkable 32-12 in the NCAA Tournament, including 14-4 in one-goal games. The 14 wins includes Princeton’s 12-11 triumph over Virgina in the 2000 national semifinals.

The Cavs, meanwhile, have an excellent, however checkered, history in the NCAA Tournament. They are 4-4 in national-title games, but have come oh-so-close to being 8-0. Get this: Included in their bitter losses to Tierney in 1994 and 1996, Virginia also lost OT title games to North Carolina (10-9 in 1986) and to Johns Hopkins (9-8 2OT in 1980).

Virginia has been to the past three Final Fours, losing in the semis to Syracuse (2008), Cornell (2009) and Duke (the defending national champion). So, yes, the Cavs will have a big-time edge in Final Four experience — from a player’s standpoint.

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.